Normally I wouldn’t have struggled to carry the bags of cat food, but I was wearing 5-inch stiletto heels that day. Not exactly farm-friendly footwear.
“Oh, fudge,” I said, to no one in particular. One of the bags of kibble slipped from my grasp. It spilled open on the ground, and cats came running from all over the farm.
“Need some help with that?”
I spun around. There was a man walking toward me from the barn. He was shirtless, in blue jeans, and had a wry smile. Sun and perspiration glistened on his bulging biceps and muscled body.
“Uh…” I said, preoccupied by his rippling abs, which looked like they had never seen a carb before.
“I’m Kyle,” he said, removing his leather work gloves. “And you must be Karen.”
“Uh…” I said again. I was still not completely lucid. I mean, those shoulders, though. They were huge!
“That’s a lot of cat food,” he said. “Are you one of those crazy cat ladies?” He winked, and I literally saw a twinkle in his eye.
“If you only knew,” I said. “Yeah, I come out here to feed the feral cats a few times a week. Mr. Hargrove likes to keep them around, you know, to catch the rats. Plus they’re cute.”
“I see,” he said. “Do the cats like it when you wear high heels?” He gestured toward my feet.
“Well, no,” I said. “But I was planning to go to a MAC store after this because they have a new collection out. It’s about romance novels. You know, heaving bosoms, long-haired naughty pirates, that kind of thing.”
“Naughty pirates?” he asked.
“Obviously,” I said, “you can’t have a romance novel without naughty pirates.”
“Interesting,” he said. “Fair enough.”
Cats swarmed around my ankles devouring the kibble. Kyle was the new farm hand I’d heard about. Mr. Hargrove mentioned hiring him, but I hadn’t seen him before today. He looked a little like Alcide from True Blood. Part of me hoped he wasn’t a werewolf. Part of me hoped he was.
“Well my work here is done,” I said, looking at the kibble. “I think these cats are sufficiently fed.”
Kyle took a step toward me, and the hairs on the back of my arms stood up. “Do you have to go?” he asked.
The MAC store was already open, and I wanted to get there soon, but Kyle sure looked good in those jeans. I decided that A Novel Romance would have to wait.
Or is it the beginning? 🙂
A Novel Romance has some the most memorable fall campaign art I’ve seen since MAC Fabulous Felines. First of all, homeboy in the pic below looks like Khal Drogo. I wonder if that was on purpose…
Second, the whole idea just makes me smile. It’s cheesy, but still feminine and pretty. I mean, I get it, even though it’s been years since I’ve read a romance novel.
What we have here is very seductive makeup, but there’s also a softness to it that I like, especially around the eyes. There’s a lot of shimmer, and nothing too hard edged.
I may or may not have breathed a lusty sigh when I saw the new Fluidline Eye Pencils. I’m never without my pot of Blacktrack, and I love me some Fluidline in the pots, so I ’twas intrigued.
I used one of the shades yesterday, Black Brilliance, the basic black. It’s a pencil gel liner, which a lot of brands have, but these pencils have a very fine point. Finer than usual for products like these, and I think it makes them great for getting liner down between each lash at the base…because it seems like I spend half my day trying to get eyeliner between the roots of my lashes.
They’re highly pigmented and glide along the skin, but if you want to smudge them at all, you have to work quickly, because once they set, they don’t move. I wore Black Brilliance on my lash and water lines yesterday and had it on for about six hours before removing it, and it looked great the whole time…on my upper water lines and lash lines, that is.
It was a different story on my lower water lines. The color was still intense, but the coverage had broken up in places.
I will say that the formula didn’t irritate my eyes, though, which is something….
Regarding the Electric Cool Eyeshadows in the release, maybe it’s because I’m coming off a Chanel New Moon high, but I’m very excited about these. They have the same spongey, soft texture as the Chanel Illusion D’Ombres, which I love.
I’ll be taking a closer look at them a little later, but for now, I see a lot of potential for quick eye looks using just a finger and one of these pots.
As for paws/claws, I’m still in summer nail mode, so I’m thinking brights, brights, brights! Fun, fun, fun! So at first I didn’t have any interest in the six Studio Nail Lacquers in the collection ($12 U.S./$14 CAD) because they seemed kind of dark and dreary.
Or so I thought. They may look a little dull in their bottles, but they definitely look much brighter on my nails.
Not like neon bright or anything, but livelier.
Before Dawn, the green shade, is the one that moves me the most. It has elements of that baby poo polish Chanel did a few years ago for fall (Khaki Vert), but I think it’s prettier than that shade because it has a slight pearl, so it’s not completely flat. It has more dimension.
I see it being my pedi polish this fall, and you know what goes well with green, don’t you?
How about hot pink lips? 🙂
OK, more like a hot fuchsia. Good Kisser is one of the six Lipsticks ($16 U.S./$18 CAD) in the release, but when you go to the counter, you’re only going to see five of them. Yield to Love, the rosy shade, is an online exclusive.
Good Kisser — I love that name. The color reminds me of MAC Impassioned, except slightly bluer.
So, for the eye quads, there are three of them ($40 U.S./$48 CAD), and while none of them really make me want to tear off my corset, I’m still turned on by the color combinations. These are the kinds of palettes I like to use for smokey eyes because the colors lend themselves easily to gradients; the steps between the shades in each quad aren’t that extreme. The violet and pink tones in the A Passionate Quest Quad, for example, are more like first cousins than third cousins twice removed.
I notice that the colors in the quads generally lean neutral and cool, too. Not a lot of warmth there, but I supposed that’s not a big surprise, considering that they’re part of a fall collection.
In all of these face pics I’m wearing An Amorous Adventure (more pics and posts to follow, BTW) and used it to do a sort of hazy, golden plummy brown eye look.
I was going to use A Novel Romance for my first foray into these new quads to experiment with Rising Passions, the khaki color (because khaki and I are like this), but I decided to save that one for later.
Same goes for A Passionate Quest, the third quad, which is all about purple. I have to be careful sometimes with purples because some make my left eye water (just the left eye; it’s the weirdest thing), so I’m going to see what I can do with that quad in an upcoming post.
The collection also includes two Powder Blushes ($22 U.S./$26 CAD), one Haute & Naughty Too Black Lash Mascara ($22 U.S./$26 CAD) and three Eye Brushes (213 Fluff Brush, $24 U.S./$28.50 CAD; 224 Tapered Blending Brush, $32 U.S./$38.50 CAD; and the 242 Shader, $25 U.S./$30 CAD).
Why only two Blushes? You tell me. I wish there had been more. MORE!
I mean, I’m cool with soft neutral peach Fun Ending. In fact, it’s the blush I’m wearing in these pics.
The MAC A Novel Romance Collection includes…
Available August 14 online at maccosmetics.com, in-stores August 21 through October 2 and coming to international MAC locations this September
- 6 LIPSTICKS, $16 U.S./$18 CAD
Lustre Lipstick in Myself — a soft shimmery nude beige
Cremesheen Lipstick in A Novel Romance — a light cool dusty pink
Matte Lipstick in Good Kisser — a mid-tone fuchsia
Matte Lipstick in Hearts Aflame — a mid-tone brick red
Matte Lipstick in Lingering Kiss — deep plummy red
Cremesheen Lipstick Yield to Love (online exclusive) — a mid-tone rose- 5 LIPGLASSES, $15 U.S./$18 CAD
Lipglass in Bared for You — a soft rose gold
Lipglass in Reckless Desires — a sheer pearlescent lavender grey
Lipglass in Pure Fiction — a mid-tone violet pink
Lipglass in Wanting More — a washed-out lavender
Lipglass in Talk Sexy — a dark purple- 2 POWDER BLUSHES, $22 U.S./$26 CAD
Satin Powder Blush in Fun Ending — a soft neutral peach
Frost Powder Blush in Animal Instincts — a shimmery plum- 3 EYE SHADOW QUADS, $40 U.S./$48 CAD
A Novel Romance Quad — Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow in My Fantasy (a pale neutral olive), Frost Eye Shadow in Fall in Lust (a mid-tone cool grayish mauve), Matte Eye Shadow in Dance in the Dark (a deep blackend brown) and Velvet Eye Shadow in Rising Passions
An Amorous Adventure Quad — Frost Eye Shadow in Sable (a golden plum with bronze pearl), Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow in Sex & The Oyster (a mid-tone seafoam green) and Velvet Eye Shadow in Black Tied (a black with silver sparkle)
A Passionate Quest Quad — Satin Eye Shadow in The Wrong Man (a light cool dusty pink), Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow in Serenade (a mid-tone orchid pink with blue duochrome pearl), Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow in Brazenly (a rich eggplant) and Satin Eye Shadow in Stay Sultry (a deep violet navy)- 7 FLUIDLINE EYE PENCILS, $16 U.S./$19 CAD
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Atomic Ore — a gold
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Earth Sign — a deep brown
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Deep Blue Sea — a deep ocean blue
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Metropolis — a deep metal gray
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Water Willow — a deep khaki green
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Evil Twin — a bluish purple
Fluidline Eye Pencil in Black Brilliance — a black- 8 ELECTRIC COOL EYE SHADOWS, $21 U.S./$25 CAD
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Pure Flash — a pale champagne
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Love Power — a soft, shimmering rose
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Superwatt — a light shimmering taupe
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Coil — a coppery bronze
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Gilded Thrill — a frosty gold
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Switch to Blue — a rich cobalt
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Highly Charged — a rich purple with pink pearl
Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Blacklit — a black with multidimensional pearl- 6 STUDIO NAIL LACQUERS, $12 U.S./$14 CAD
Studio Nail Lacquer in Before Dawn — a greenish gray
Studio Nail Lacquer in Midnight Storm — a deep magenta
Studio Nail Lacquer in Sunset Sky — a mid-tone crimson
Studio Nail Lacquer in Midnight Strata — a dark violet
Studio Nail Lacquer in Midnight Ocean — a dark royal blue
Studio Nail Lacquer in Midnight Sky — a deep charcoal- 1 HAUTE & NAUGHTY TOO BLACK LASH MASCARA, $22 U.S./$26 CAD
- 3 EYE BRUSHES (213 Fluff Brush, $24 U.S./$28.50 CAD; 224 Tapered Blending Brush, $32 U.S./$38.50 CAD; and the 242 Shader, $25 U.S./$30 CAD)
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
ooohh, steamy! What a gorgeous collection…there are SO many items! That Talk Sexy gloss looks stunning and I love how you used a romance novel for the backdrop of your photos! You are so creative 🙂
Hi Kristina,
Yes, it’s a huge collection. MAC fall is typically pretty big. 🙂 What is moving you so far?
I really love the first 4 Electric Cool Eyeshadows you showed, the Yield to Love Lipstick and the Talk Sexy Gloss! 😀
Yeah, Yield to Love was the surprise out of the lipsticks for me. From the PR pics it looked pretty dark, but on lips it’s super wearable. A great everyday kind of color, right?
Wow, is all I can say Karen! Your pictures are gorgeous, you look super sexy and your story is really cute! This collection looks fantastic, so much to choose from. Reckless Desires lipglass is definitely on my wishlist, it’s so pretty and nothing like I have in my collection. And I am hoping to see the swatches of the blushes as well!
Hi Agata,
Just updated it with the blush swatches. Fun Ending (the light peach) would look great on you.
Oh, I see the swatches now. Animal Insticts looks very unique, I wonder if it’d be too dark for my complexion.
It’s deep, but you can pull it off you use a fan brush, take most of the product off before applying, and then blend, blend, blend.
Fun Ending is super pretty too! Btw, have you told you I have been considering changing my hair color for fall to brown with blonde highlights? I am really tempted…
Well done Karen!
Hi Martha,
Thanks, babe. 🙂 Have you read any bodice-ripping books lately? Also, what do you like from the collection?
Hot dayum, I want Kyle to be a werewolf lol! This collection is so cheeky.
I think of everything here I want to try the Fluidline eye pencils and Midnight Storm nail polish.
Thanks for the great pics and the story! 🙂
Lmao that opening pic is too cute! I honestly thought I was going to skip this collection but your swatches just pushed me over the edge! I was thinking about getting Good Kisser anyway but now I think Animal Instincts blush, maybe Novel Romance lipstick and 3 glosses. Plus I love those fluidline pencils. I’m so glad they’ll be perm though. This could get ugly!
LOL, Fancie!
OMG!!! you are amazing!!! Thanks for showing all of this.. I’m in love, usually I just like a few itens in the collections… but I WANT IT ALL THIS TIME!!!
Hi Camila,
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Which items are at the top of your list?
Love this collection! I will be buying as many of the cool eyeshadow in Super watt as possible. I bought that shade two years ago in a summer collection and have been searching for a dupe since I finished it!
Hi Jamie,
Ahh, a girl after my own heart. I do the same thing with items that I love (she says as she opens a drawer filled with BECCA Cabrera liner).
How do you usually wear Superwatt? As a wash all over the lid?
Holy wow, you look absolutely stunning! Totally heroine material. I am really wanting a lot from this collection! It looks amazing! <3
Hi Shipra,
What’s on your list so far?
Good Kisser, Yield to Love, Hearts Aflame, Lingering Kiss, Animal Instincts, just to name a few! 😉
Great picks. 🙂 You will LOVE Good Kisser (wearing it right now, as a matter of fact!). Not sure if you have MAC Impassioned, but it’s similar, but also very pretty too.
I do not have that one. I guess now I can justify it! 😉
If I can only get two things, which will probably be the case… It will definitely be Yield to Love and Animal Instincts! <3
Now THIS is a collection that I like! MAC hasn’t been catching my eye much with whole collections (maybe I’m just a fall person!), but Novel Romance is gorgeous. As are your paperback cover photos! Get it girl!
Hi Alison,
I’m usually a fall makeup person, too, when it isn’t 90 degrees outside. It’s been hot here lately! This collection is getting me in the mood (boom-chika-wah-wah) for the season, though.
What here catches your eye?
Must say, I was expecting to see Ryan & you on that romance novel cover 😀 Fab collection and a massive one too! Excited about the Good Kisser lippie (but is it too close to either NARS Yu or MAC Flat out fabulous) and am swooning over those nail colors! Love the look you have created…absolutely gorgeous!
Hi Paulomi,
I asked RyGos if he could model but unfortunately he was busy. I blame Eva. SHE’S RUINING EVERYTHING!
Yeah, good call on NARS Yu. I think that might be slightly even more blue (at least that what it does on me). Good color, though. A summertime staple. Have you ever worn Lodhi? It’s the coral shade, and a go-to for me.
Stop it. These portraits of you are INSANE. Soooo amazing! You make me want that quad, but I think I love A Novel Romance quad more. So beautiful!
I’m curious about the Fluidline Eye Pencils, too. The yellow/champagne one looks fantastic!
Hi Arianne,
I was trying to channel “heaving bosoms” in these pics, but ended up thinking of doughnuts. Mmm…doughnuts.
I think that you would look amazing in the A Novel Romance Quad colors. Especially with a gold/green smokey eye!
Happy (almost) Friday, btw. 🙂
Damn Karen, you look FIIIINE in this collection :p
Hi Shana,
GURL. I swear to you, it’s the hair. Whip it around a bit before pics and it works magic, LOL.
How are you? Aren’t you glad it’s almost Friday?
first of all , you look AMAZING !!!!
second , i’m loving good kisser & lingering kiss .
thank you so much for the swatches !
Wow, what a collection! Thanks for all the pics and swatches. I love the eye look you did.
True confession – back in middle school my friends and I used to get romance novels from the library so we could giggle over all the steamy parts. This was back in the dark ages before Internet. 🙂
Does anyone have a crystal ball to see the likelihood of someone getting their hands on those items before they sell out in 0.002 seconds?
I’ve been bummed out in the last two releases I’ve tried to get stuff in, not being able to snag the things I wanted even though I went online or in stores the day of respective launches… I don’t want to waste my time again for sold out nonsense. :/
It’s been ages since a MAC collection has caught my eye, but this one is very pretty. Especially the Matte Lipstick in Good Kisser. I think I may need that one…
Karen you are the best reviewer ever! You get me so pumped about releases!!!
OMGosh! It’s such a huge collection! Where to begin? The Fluidline eye pencils, the electric cool shadows, the studio nail lacquers! I want them all. Lol. Guess I need to prioritize how to spend my pennies. Hopefully it won’t sell out in a nano second before I can try it.
Karen you look so fierce in your pictures!! Love this collection, very sultry…and yes he does look like Khal Drogo! Thank you for such a great and entertaining review! You’re the best!
Aflame is my favorite is so pretty, shade and finish, it remind me of MAC dubonnet , but this Aflame has more brown and is matte, while dubonnet is creme
Talk sexy is pretty is not that glossy and that amkes ut perfect for me
Karen, you are SUCH a good writer! And you tease us with these cliff-hangers – I mean, I’m still wondering what happened the day Tabs walked into Sephora and all the fur-brightener in his shade had been mysteriously purchased by another cat. So – when can we go on Amazon to buy your best-seller? Preferably a romance, with Tabs playing a significant part, of course? Please?
Gorgeous pics! I’m loving the romance novel theme, it’s so cheeky and fun! And those quads are calling my name, yearningly…
Holy hotness Karen!!!!!
but LMAO at this : “Uh…” I said, preoccupied by his rippling abs, which looked like they had never seen a carb before.
and dude really looks like Drogo…..
I’m excited for the fluid line pencils 😀
Karen, in another life, you could be a romance novel writer! Hehe…I love how creative and entertaining your posts are. You look amazing in your photos (and quite the romance novel heroine in the second photo).
I can’t wait to check out the Fluidline Eye Pencils! Here’s hoping they won’t smudge on my oily skin… (The Fluidline gel pots typically do, unfortunately.)
Love your styling and that top photo is amazing. 😉 Those Electric Cool shadows have me intrigued, especially this time of year when I just want one swipe and then a touch of crease blending.
Hi Karen, you are a natural romance writer…and the cliff hanger at the end…Kyle or the MAC make up counter? Torn between two lovers but I guess you chose the better. And I’ve never seen an author pose for her own novel cover. What a novelty! ha ha! You made me excited to check out this new line. So many colors and options to choose from. Thank you for sharing.
I own almost no MAC makeup (shame!), I need to change that! Those eye pencils look fantastic – I love Atomic and Earth Sign! I also want to buy some of the shadows online because you can buy just the pan and save money. (I also have a mental thing against palettes most of the time because there are ALWAYS colors I won’t use)
I have a former coworker who’s the manager at a MAC store, but it’s the one in the airport, so it would be a pain in the butt to go!
Great post, Karen. Love the pics! 😉
Love your stories!!! And love this collection.
never mind the macs – wtf is that book in the background!? Karen you sassy lady 😉
I’d already bookmarked your post on Guerlain’s Rose Grenat and Geneva, and then I saw this … Lord help me when the shops offer 10% off!
p.s./ I do admire the effort you put into your posts 🙂
Karen, you are my FAVORITE!
This is awesome. And by “this” I especially mean your novel romance snippet at the beginning! So funny! So seductive! So Karen! Hahaha.
THANKS for your – double-…? No, definitely TRIPLE-threat posting:
Thanks for showing the products and their swatches so well; they look great & I can see I’ll have to buy from the collection!
Your two pics of yourself modeling the black Fluidline eye pencil/ liner, the eyeshadow quad you chose, and everything else… you really show them off to great effect, you know…
…and YOU look totally glamorous! Definitely romance-novel NoV
cover-worthy!
I use Superwattt as a wash on my lids. Looks great when you’re running late on the morning for a quick poo of color!
I’m super excited about this…enough to order online…when does it traditionally go for sale online? And if you had to pick between the Armorous Quad and the Passionate Quest quad…what are your thoughts?
And the Disney Wrong Spell lipglass was my all-time favorite lipglass. How does Talk Sexy compare to that?
I enjoys your blogs karen. Not just because I’m a makeup addict myself and I trust your reviews but because they’re also entertaining. You should write a book
Hi Karen,
Awesome review! What do you think about the eye shadows (singles not the palette)? Beautiful colors but concerned about the wear ability.
“Part of me hoped he wasn’t a werewolf. Part of me hoped he was.” – this made me laugh so hard! You would make a brilliant romance novel author, Karen. The An Amorous Adventure Quad looked really beautiful and irresistible! I’m also very intrigued by Good Kisser. I’m hoping to b able to check the collection out soon and maybe grab some for myself while I’m at it. Thanks, Karen!
Ahhh this collection looks amazing! I’m pretty drawn to Good Kisser and Hearts Aflame. I love your FOTDs as well! So in character! <3
Oh my god, how did I miss this post?
Wow, Karen, these pictures of you are EVERYTHING, wowza!!! <3
Love, love, love them! <3
Love, Stefi
http://www.brighteyesandglossylips.com